In the high speed technology of modern electronics, high frequency connectors have been developed for use with backplanes and printed circuit cards; e.g., daughter cards. Such connectors require shielding or ground planes between signal pins; e.g., a stripline configuration, to provide high frequency signal integrity and minimize interference from foreign sources. One such arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,476 wherein a terminal grounding unit comprises an insulating member having a row and column configuration of apertures for receiving pin terminals attached to and extending outwardly from a backplane on which the insulating member is mounted. Further, channels are provided in the insulating member between columns of apertures for receiving a shielding member which is terminated to U-shaped female contacts attached to the backplane and extending into the channels through slots in the channel floors. This arrangement provides a shield or ground plane between adjacent columns of pin terminals carrying high frequency signals.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,014 discloses a high frequency modular connector for use with a circuit board to interconnect the circuit board with a backplane. The connector comprises modules each having a pair of rectangular-shaped, circuit board members. The members are formed with several parallel fingers separated by slots and contain a passage in which a female contact is disposed. Each member in each module is bracketed with a shield member and dielectric spacer. A conductive shield member of a different configuration is positioned between adjacent modules. While the shield members shield adjacent modules, a corrugated conductive member is positioned in the slots between the fingers to shield adjacent female contact disposed in the passages in the several fingers. The shield members and corrugated member are connected to ground circuits to complete the ground paths.
It is now proposed to provide ground reference contacts in high density, high frequency two-piece connectors wherein the ground reference contacts provide shielding between adjacent columns of signal carrying contacts. It is further proposed to provide power-carrying contacts in conjunction with ground reference contacts where required.